Last week, Airport Management announced that, as of October 1st, it would collect the airport tax from passengers of Surinam Airways (SLM) who wish to leave Suriname. These passengers would have to pay USD 71.50. However, shortly after this announcement, SLM advised its passengers not to pay this mandatory tax to Airport Management.
SLM is the only airline that does not include the airport tax in the price of its tickets. Last weekend, the government discussed the issue with SLM and Airport Management. Following these discussions, Airport Management and Surinam Airways announced that the plan to collect the airport tax as of October 1st, 2024, was cancelled due to government intervention. All parties agreed that SLM would collect and hand over the airport tax in accordance with the usual procedure.
For the past few years, SLM has failed to hand over the airport tax to Airport Management, resulting in the airline retaining millions of US dollars. Airport Management emphasized that it urgently needs the funds to optimize its services and ensure passenger safety. SLM and Airport Management are scheduled to discuss the payment of the airport tax that SLM has withheld for years…[+]